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The Call formed in Santa Cruz in 1980 by vocalist/guitarist Michael Been, drummer/percussionist Scott Musick, bassist Greg Freeman, and guitarist Tom Ferrier. Steve Huddleston played keyboards early on for the band. Been and Musick were originally from Oklahoma. Been was previously a member of Chicago band Aorta, and then, between 1969 and 1971, of Lovecraft, the successor band to the psychedelic rock group H.P. Lovecraft.[1]

Beginning with their self-titled debut in 1982, The Call went on to produce 10 albums by 2000. The eponymous premiere album was recorded in England, and Been later recalled that the band was in an exploratory phase at this point. Been noted in a 1988 interview, "The Call was a compassionate album, but it probably came out as anger." Peter Gabriel liked the band so much that he called them the "future of American music"[2] and asked them to open for him during his 1982 "Shock the Monkey" tour.[citation needed]

The next album, Modern Romans, was notable for its political content. Been later stated, "There was a great deal happening politically – Grenada, Lebanon, or the government saying the Russians are evil and the Russian government probably saying the same about us. That kind of thinking inspired me to write the last lines of 'Walls Came Down'."[citation needed]

This was followed by Scene Beyond Dreams. Been referred to it as The Call's "metaphysical" album. With a strong poetic sense to the lyrics and a change in instrumentation, the change in sound is notable. Garth Hudson of The Band played keyboards on these first three records.

Next came the band's 1987 release Into The Woods, which Been referred to as his favorite album.[citation needed]

In 1989 they released Let the Day Begin, whose title track reached No. 1 on the US Mainstream Rock chart.

Red Moon, which included background vocals by U2's Bono on the track "What's Happened to You", was released in 1990.[4]

In 1996, Warner Bros. Records. released The Best of The Call, which featured a selection of old favorites and few new songs. Two of the songs, Us and To Feel This Way, were different versions of tracks later to be seen on Been's solo album, and in the case of "To Feel This Way", the "Light Sleeper" soundtrack as well.[citation needed]

In 1997 To Heaven and Back, was released by Fingerprint Records, followed by a live album, Live Under the Red Moon, in 2000. The Call disbanded that same year.

After disbanding Scott Musick returned to Tulsa, Oklahoma where he plays regular shows with other local musicians and local legends. He also teaches drums and music to local youth.

A 2009 temporary exhibition at the Oklahoma History Center about rock music in the state was called "Another Hot Oklahoma Night: A Rock & Roll Exhibit". The name of the exhibition was taken from a line in The Call's song "Oklahoma", which was also one of the ten finalists in a 2009 vote for Oklahoma's official state rock song.[5][6] A book was published of the same name featuring The Call and numerous other Oklahoma musicians.

On April 18–19 2013, band members Scott Musick, Tom Ferrier, and Jim Goodwin reunited for a series of shows in San Francisco and Los Angeles with Robert Levon Been of BRMC taking over the role of bass and vocals.[8]

On September 2, 2014, The Call – A Tribute to Michael Been featuring Robert Levon Been (of BRMC) was released featuring a CD (14 songs), a special CD/DVD combo pack, and a Digital Deluxe version with 19 songs. Also a limited edition vinyl release was made. The release was taken from the 2013 reunion shows as mentioned above. In 2015, an hour-long TV special using footage from the DVD was shown on VH1 Classic and Palladia.